On July 30th., an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)_PSLV C56 carried the NuSpace Pte Ltd.‘s NuLIoN smallsat as one of the mission’s ride share payloads to orbit.
Upon successful insertion, the company attempted to contact the satellite using the firm’s own ground station, following the planned operating procedure. Initially, contact with the satellite on its first few passes was unsuccessful.
NuSpace LoRaWAN Internet-of-Things Network (NuLIoN) is an advanced, 3U, smallsat that enables seamless IoT connectivity in urban and remote locations. The smallsats empowers terrestrial sensors to effortlessly transmit data directly to the satellite, eliminating the complex infrastructure and high costs that are associated with mass deployment of IoT applications in remote areas.
Fortunately, NUS CRISP (an operational ground station) reached out to the company and offered to assist — they began tracking NuLIoN with their spare capacity. NUS CRISP picked up a short blip on their spectrum analyzer, which corresponded to NuLIoN’s frequency. NuSpace quickly integrated the firm’s ground equipment into the NUS CRISP their station and the wait was on. In a subsequent pass, scrambled data was noted coming in but was being discarded — finally, the first decoded beacon packet was received.
NuLIoN is operating nominally and the solar panels and communication antenna are fully deployed. In the upcoming weeks, the company will continue to test the satellite and commission it phase by phase until the smallsat is ready for its mission.
NuSpace writes, “This success would not have been possible without the help of NUS CRISP and their unwavering and continuous support.”